Author: Anne

Slash the trash

Anne2 Comments

we need to slash the trashWhen I travel, part of the fascination is seeing the different ways we all live our lives, both good and bad.  As we travelled in America I became disturbed at the amount of trash we seemed to be leaving in our wake. I know that when travelling, and buying food on the run, you increase your consumption of disposable products and convenience foods, but I started to feel guilty about the large amount of garbage we were creating each day.  Then I realised that most times when we ate, even in restaurants, we were given items that ended up in the rubbish bins.  We needed to slash the trash!

At a motel Continental breakfast, the entire crockery and cutlery was disposable.  So just to eat cereal and juice we binned two plastic spoons, two plastic bowls, two plastic glasses, two paper coffee cups, one plastic stirrer (we shared) along with the usual waste of serviettes, sugar packets and yoghurt containers.  That’s a lot of trash!

At another cute café where we ate, we still received paper coffee cups, plastic stirrers, and sauce in individual disposable containers.  When we bought popcorn for the train trip it was already packaged in a paper bag but was placed in a plastic bag, inside a paper carrier bag. In our hotel rooms the drinking glasses have been plastic and individually wrapped in plastic.

It got me thinking about Continue reading →

Abbie and the Amish

Anne2 Comments
Spirit Lake
Spirit Lake

I never dreamed I would end up in an Amish community. I love how this holiday has evolved, right from the beginning it has been driven by our desire to connect with friends and family outside of Australia, and of course see the world!  This led us to Frank and Marilyn, who we had met on a bike and barge trip in France three years ago, and their wonderfully relaxing home at Spirit Lake, Iowa.  For the first few days I literally had no idea where we were. We arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and quickly crossed into Iowa, leaving the big cities behind, through prairies planted with lush green corn as far as the eye could see.  I had a very poor understanding of the geographical layout of the Midwest states, initially didn’t have a map, and with no internet connection, I was simply somewhere with complete faith that Marilyn and Frank would lead me to wherever I needed to be.

Okoboji, where we visited Abbie Gardner’s cabinAfter Steven’s accident we needed to change our activities from biking and boating to Continue reading →

The cost of an accident in the USA?

Anne27 Comments

Accident Bruised leg. Spirit Lake ParamedicsIt’s been a week since Steven’s water skiing accident in Spirit Lake, Iowa, see the blog The Spirit Lake Paramedics – a welcome sight.  His buttock and leg is sore and yesterday the bruising appeared. Now the back of his thigh is an interesting pattern of mottled black, blue and yellow and he has an intriguing bright blue spider web bruise on his buttock.

accident Spirit LakeHe has graduated from crutches to an old man, collapsible walking stick and with the help of analgesics and muscle relaxants is managing to get around quite well. We are back on the road again with minimal changes to our travel plans. My fury at him contracting “I’m really a young man” disease and attempting to water ski after 20 years, with no preparation, is dissipating and I am treating him with kindness…. Mostly!

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I'm not really angry at having to manage ALL the bags! after the accident
I’m not really angry at having to manage ALL the bags!

We were able to stay and enjoy the tranquility of Spirit Lake for a few days longer, thanks to the generosity of our hosts Marilyn and Frank and we will always remember the kindness of their neighbours who provided Continue reading →

Hitting NYC – the MOMA, the MET and a couple of Broadway shows

Anne4 Comments

New York is a city of culture. Of museums and art galleries so we started at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). The MOMA states it is dedicated to being the foremost museum of contemporary art in the world so we gorged ourselves on the likes of Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Henry Matisse until we Continue reading →

Lounging in Long Island, New York

Anne1 Comment

We spent four glorious days on the North Fork of Long Island. We couldn’t have had a more relaxing start to the USA part of our trip, or stayed in a place that provided such a contrast to our time in Asia and UAE. It was wonderful to be surrounded  by lush green grass, an abundance of trees, farms, wineries, crystal clear waters and gorgeous picturesque villages.P1120118 (2)

North Fork is about 75 miles east of Manhattan, just over 2 hours drive from JFK.  It’s a popular Continue reading →

Embracing Dubai

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We flew from Lhasa, Tibet, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in one day, so the least we could expect was a dose of culture shock.  We went from one of the least commercialised and underdeveloped countries in the world to one where retail malls are touted as major tourist attractions and development includes building fake islands.in the shape of a palm.  We left Tibet not being able to breathe due to the high altitude, and became breathless in Dubai due to the vile heat which a 44 degree temperature produces.

P1110044 (2)We were excited to arrive in the Middle East and initially were drawn to the one of the older areas of Dubai, the Creek which has served as a minor port for vessels trading from India and East Africa.

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P1110063 (2)We took a lazy abra ride along the Creek, sweltered as we wandered through the fabric souk and gulped down icy cold lemon and mint drinks when we lunched in the Bastakia area.

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Love the dancer behind me

We resisted the call of the malls as we are not shoppers but somehow we succumbed to the tantalising air-conditioning in Dubai Mall (the world’s largest shopping mall based on total area) and as we sank gratefully into the plush cushions of the Times of Arabia restaurant in the Souk area of the mall, we embraced Dubai.

This is a city with a population of 2 million but only 10-15% are local Emiratis.  The rest of the population are expatriates, chiefly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshis, Filipinos and Somalis. About 6 million international visitors arrive each year.  I get a sense that Dubai expects all expatriates and visitors to spend significant time shopping and staying in ultra-expensive hotels.

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One of two indoor waterfalls with fake divers

Development is around every corner and huge air-conditioned undercover areas where you can shop, snow ski, Continue reading →

Glimpses of Tibetan life

Anne3 Comments

We experienced these glimpses of Tibetan life. A life very different from that which we have lived.

Inside a Tibetan house

The two small boys stood watching me solemnly, standing against the wall with their mother a brief distance away. We had stopped in their village to take photos of the yak dung covered walls, drying in the sun so that later they could be used as fuel for the fire.

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Yak dung covered walls

I walked up to the boys smiling but their solemn expression didn’t change, they were wary of me, one of four strange looking foreigners who had alighted from a van. I had two bright juicy oranges that I wanted to share with the boys. After a nod of consent from their mother I gave each of the boys an orange. Their faces broke into smiles and they clutched their gifts tightly. We stood there smiling at each other for a while then I wandered back to the van assuming that we were about to depart, however our guide, who knew of my  desire to see inside a Tibetan house, spoke with the boys’ mother and she invited us in.P1100757 (2)

From outside the house appeared of good quality and quite a substantial size, two storey and rectangular, typical of the houses in the area.

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We were led past the Continue reading →

Of Monks and Monasteries

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A spectacular view

There are hundreds of Buddhist Monasteries in Tibet and they are an integral part of life here. We visited the Pabonka Monastery, situated at the base of the mountains which surround Lhasa, and offers panoramic views of the area and the Potala Palace. The Monastery was built in the 7th century and is one of the most ancient Buddhist sites in Lhasa.

A Pilgrim - if she can do it so can I!
A Pilgrim – if she can do it so can I!

We joined the pilgrims in their kora, the circumambulation of a sacred site which is both a type of pilgrimage and meditative practice. Smiles, stares, giggles and frequent hello’s greeted us as we joined the Tibetans of all ages, dressed predominantly in traditional clothing, carrying Continue reading →

Thank you Tenzin Blind Massage Centre

Anne5 Comments

P1100489 (2)We arrived in Lhasa feeling tired and breathless due to our lack of altitude acclimatisation. With two days until our first tour activities we had always planned to rest and adjust before doing any serious sightseeing.  What better way to spend the time than by having a massage. Lonely Planet had recommended the Tenzin Blind Massage Centre and so we took ourselves there.  The outside appearance was not particularly inviting or attractive and I almost backed out however, with some trepidation, we went down the narrow hallway and up the dingy stairs.

P1100493We were greeted by a friendly blind young man, who introduced himself as Sarin. He spoke excellent English and explained that they offered two types of massage: Tibetan, clothes off with oil and soft pressure or Chinese, clothes on and harder. We chose the Tibetan massage and were guided up a steep staircase to a Continue reading →

A Blog about Smog

Anne3 Comments

I don’t think that I can spend a month in China and not say something about the smog.  From the first day we arrived in Yangshou I have felt disoriented, as if my senses have shut down and I am unable to “tell” what the weather will do. The sky is unlike anything I have seen before and the air feels different. While there have been some gloriously clear days, in general, a grey haze hangs in the air and it feels oppressive.  Steven and I have both been coughing since we arrived and I am convinced that it is smog irritation.  Steven is a well managed asthmatic and I have feared that the smog would set off an attack but thankfully this has not happened.  Before we left for China, friends who visit here often for work warned us about the smog and they check the air quality before they travel.

I am writing this in Xining, at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau on the 23 floor of the hotel.  I look across at the other skyscrapers and the dirty haze just hangs in the sky.  It horrifies me that I am breathing that air. Do children who grow up with this think it’s ordinary weather? How long would you have to be here before you started to accept this as normal, that a really smoggy day was just a bad day?

Today in Xining the Air Quality Index is 134 which means it falls in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” category. Apparently the general public, like me, wont be affected, but Steve with his asthma may be affected.  To give you a comparison, Brisbane, where we live, was 45 on the same day, in the “Good” category.

In Beijing I read an article in a magazine for expatriates living there.  A man discussed his dilemma about staying and working in a country he loved now that he had a young child. He had been ok about putting himself in the unhealthy environment but felt completely different when he made that unhealthy choice for his child. Lucky him, he had the choice of whether to leave or not, the Chinese don’t.

P1090187 (2)The cause of the pollution is complex, but I understand that Continue reading →